With a goal of accelerating new home construction and reaching regional climate action targets, today the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) awarded the City of San Diego $4.8 million in funding through its Housing Acceleration Program. 

The funding comes from Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and is awarded through SANDAG. It’s intended to support local governments, developers, tribal nations and transit agencies to develop policies that will help quicken home production, prioritize infill development and increase opportunities to travel without a car.  

“This funding will help us build off the work we’ve done, and continue to do, to produce more homes, reach our climate goals and engage with the community about the importance of addressing our housing crisis,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “We are thankful to the state and SANDAG for recognizing and supporting our efforts to create homes that San Diegans can afford.” 

The funding will go toward five City Planning Department initiatives: 

$2.5 million capital grant for an affordable homes Development Impact Fee assistance pilot program: This pilot program will provide funding, in the form of fee waivers or fee reductions, for the payment of Development Impact Fees for affordable homes within the City that meet certain criteria, such as proximity to public transit and access to high-quality jobs and other resources. 

$650,000 for Affordable Home Development Master Plan: This Master Plan will provide a comprehensive plan to utilize City-owned property to develop homes for people of all incomes in all communities that are best served by transit and amenities. It will reduce development costs and expedite home construction on public land, as well as identify potential shelter sites to address the urgent need for increased shelter capacity for people experiencing homelessness.  

$650,000 for Mid-City Communities Plan Update: This Communities Plan Update will serve as the long-range vision for land use, mobility, urban design, public facilities and services, natural resources, historic and cultural resources, and economic development for the Mid-City Communities. The plan will include a vision for the development of pedestrian-focused areas to support opportunities for homes and mixed-use development connected to residential areas, public spaces and transit.  

$500,000 for Inclusive Public Engagement Guide: This guide will create a framework to assure inclusive community participation on City plans, policies, projects and initiatives, particularly for people who have historically experienced barriers to public participation. It will serve as the foundation for a meaningful public engagement program that provides guidelines for how City decisions consider input from community members representative of the population’s demographics.  

$500,000 for Missing Middle Housing Design: Missing Middle Homes are townhomes, rowhomes, triplexes, fourplexes and small-scale multiple-home buildings that are built to the same scale as surrounding traditional single homes. This funding will help the City prepare Missing Middle Home design guidelines to provide sample plans, layouts and designs that could be incorporated into the development of these homes. These standardized plans are intended to reduce housing development costs and simplify production and review processes, as well as promote the construction of new homes near public transit. 

“The City Planning Department is committed to finding ways to accelerate the construction of new homes for San Diegans,” said City Planning Director Heidi Vonblum. “We are grateful for this funding, which will help us to comprehensively plan for more homes that families across San Diego can enjoy, thrive in and that they can afford – in areas served with good public transit and other vital public spaces and infrastructure.” 

The City Planning Department also recently received $500,000 from the California Coastal Commission to help fund the Citywide Trails Master Plan.